1994 Yellow Sea incident

1994 maritime incident in yellow sea 1994 Yellow Sea incident Yellow Sea Han class.jpg 27–29 October 1994 *Incident resolved peacefully PLAN submarine returns to base United States People's Republic of China *1 Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier 1 6 S-3B Vikings (VS-37) 2 Ticonderoga cruiser 1s 1 California cruiser 1 1 Oliver Hazard Perry frigate 1 1 unnamed USN submarine 2 unnamed USN supply vessels *1 Han-class (Type 091) submarine 2-3 J-6 Farmers A Han-class submarine in 1993 *US Kitty Hawk CVBG US CVW-15 US VS-37 *China PLAN China PLANAF US Bill Clinton US Ronald J. Zlatoper China Jiang Zemin China Wang Jiying The 1994 Yellow Sea incident was a maritime incident that occurred from 27 to 29 October 1994 between the United States Navy's Kitty Hawk CV-63 2 carrier battle group and the Chinese Navy (PLAN) in the Yellow Sea. The incident revolved around the tracking of a PLAN Han-class (Type 091) submarine that resulted in a standoff between aircraft from the Kitty Hawk and the PLANAF the following day that almost culminated in a shoot down.Mann Jim Pine Art 1994-12-14 Faceoff Between U.S. Ship, Chinese Sub Is Revealed : Military: October incident in Yellow Sea highlights growing chance of naval conflict. Beijing sounds warning. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-14-mn-8896-story.html 2026-02-05 Los Angeles Times en-US1994-12-15 Chinese Watched as U.S. Navy Tracked Sub https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/12/15/chinese-watched-as-us-navy-tracked-sub/80a7a30c-974d-4ac0-95ef-21eecc554b41/ 2026-02-05 The Washington Post en-US 0190-8286 Incident During the second half of 1994, the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk CV-63 6 and her battle group were ordered to stay in the Western Pacific due to tensions in the Korean Peninsula as well as the recent death of North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung on 8 July.https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/archives/command-operation-reports/ship-command-operation-reports/k/kitty-hawk-cv-63-ii/1994.pdf USS Kitty Hawk CV-63 – 1994 Command Operation Report 15 January 1995 United States Navy Washington D.C. 1995 During September and October, the carrier battle group spent much of their time conducting operations around the Korean peninsula. A minor encounter in September had occurred between US Navy vessels and another PLAN submarine but was resolved without any major events. On 27 October 1994, several S-3B Vikings from Kitty Hawks VS-37 squadron were searching an area that stretched 450 mi northeast of the Kitty Hawk when one of them detected a PLAN Han-class (Type 091) submarine at periscope depth,Bussert James C https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/People_s_Liberation_Army_Navy/ERwSQC8r868C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Yellow+Sea+1994+Kitty+Hawk&pg=PT99&printsec=frontcover People's Liberation Army Navy: Combat Systems Technology, 1949-2010 Elleman Bruce A. Naval Institute Press 2011 9781591140801 1st around 100 km flip west of Kyushu,Type 09-1 Han Class https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/type-91-service.htm 2026-02-05 www.globalsecurity.org around 200 mi from the battle group, off the coast of the Shandong peninsula. The submarine was shadowing the battle group and initially was able to evade the Vikings, but the use of sonobuoys by the Vikings led to it being reacquired and continuously tracked by the US Navy aircraft.Wallace Michael D. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/46477/WP09.pdf New Powers, Old Patterns: Dangers of the Naval Buildup in the Asia Pacific Region Meconis Charles A. March 1995 Institute of International Relations, The University of British Columbia 1995 March 1995 4 The methods used to track the submarine included sonobuoys and the use of the Vikings' magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) boom in the tail. The tracking of the submarine was considered a unique opportunity for US anti-submarine warfare (ASW) training as well as providing the chance to record high quality tapes of the sonar signature of the Han class. On 28 October, the Chinese North Sea Fleet Commander (Wang Jiying) scrambled around two to three PLANAF J-6 Farmers to intercept the S-3Bs that were still tracking the submarine. No communication was exchanged between the US and Chinese aircraft as the J-6s flew around the American ASW aircraft. As the Han closed in on the battle group's escort zones, SQS-53 sonars on board the carrier's escorts tracked the submarine. The Han eventually closed to within 30 km flip to 20 km flip of the Kitty Hawk battle group, closer than normal operating procedures for a US Navy carrier battle group. The incident concluded around the 29th when the Han resumed its voyage back to its base at the North Sea Fleet HQ in Qingdao. Aftermath At a dinner that took place in Beijing after the incident, a US military attaché was warned by a Chinese official that the Kitty Hawks aircraft had violated China's economic exclusion zone (EEZ) in the Yellow Sea and that future violations would result in force being used. The US, however, did not recognize the EEZ due to its extent near the Korean peninsula and its perceived impediment to freedom of navigation. The United States instead stated that they did not violate Chinese territorial claims as their aircraft were more than 12 mi from the Chinese coast. See also 1994 North Korean nuclear crisis, which occurred just before the incident. Third Taiwan Strait Crisis References Category:1994 in international relations Category:China–United States military relations Category:International maritime incidents Category:Maritime incidents in 1994 Category:Yellow Sea Category:1994 in China Category:October 1994